Posted on 03/30/2006 9:21:29 AM PST by Andy'smom
BOSTON --The court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage ruled Thursday that same-sex couples from other states where gay marriage is prohibited cannot marry here.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I'm not a Libertarian, I'm just saying the idea appeals to that streak in me.
It still IMO shows the arbitrary nature of the Mass Supreme Court. They said in 2003 that gays had the same right to marry as hetero couples and did not make an effort to issue restrictions. Now they very narrowly interpret the law.
Once again, I'm not in favor of gay marriage. I just have to look at Mass and wonder what in the heck drives their court system other than the arbitrary will of judges.
I've lived in Nevada all my life, as has Mr. randog, and thus we were married here.
I assume you're talking about the quicky marriage chapels...?
;^)
When gay marriages first started happening here, there were many nonresidents from all over the country that showed up and were in fact issued marriage licenses. Hundreds of them were married in Provincetown alone. Actually, Govenor Romney interpreted that the 1913 law should apply and intructed town and city clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses to outsiders.
Chapter 207, section 11: Non-residents; marriages contrary to laws of domiciled state. (Together with section 12, below, commonly called The 1913 Law.) Prohibits contracting a marriage in Massachusetts that would be void in a party's home state.
Chapter 207, section 12: Licensing Officer to Ascertain Legal Ability of Nonresidents to Marry. Requires a town clerk to "satisfy himself, by requiring affidavits or otherwise, that such person is not prohibited from intermarrying by the laws of the jurisdiction where he or she resides.
I see there's another article about this as well.
I agree with your post 25. Well said.
Yes, very likely. The good news is that these judges seem to be feeling some pressure to back off their actuvism. But the Mass. judges still have their jobs, so other courts so inclined will follow if they think they can get by with it.
This court decision just upheld a 1913 law banning people from marrying in Massachusetts if that marriage would be illegal in their home state.
Except this ruling enforces existing law instead of nullifying it, as some suggested.
Expect to have to repeat that during this discussion because it is a fact that flies in the face of certain agendas.
And In Other News:
Five States Outlaw Gay Divorce
Washington, DC - Five states last week passed statewide propositions outlawing gay divorce. Political commentators and gay advocates view this as an even more damaging blow to gay rights then the more publicized bans on gay marriage. The resolutions were passed by voters in California, Massachusetts, Washington state, New Hampshire and Maine.
The ballot initiatives spell trouble in the "blue" or "gay" states where there have recently been a rash of civil unions once a handful of mayors allowed same-sex marriages earlier this year. Thousands of gay couples rushed to finally be afforded the freedom to wed. Presently in November, over a third of those couples are desperately seeking a way to get out of these hurried marriages.
Many civil unions have been reportedly buckling under the stress of nagging, rows with in-laws and emotionless, mechanical sex. Common symptoms of these unsuccessful civil unions are excessive time spent puttering in the garage, alcoholism or both. An anonymous Seattle-area policewoman was quoted, "God, please, I promise I'll never marry again."
Opponents of the propositions have expressed their concern that there will be a new era of "back-alley divorces", performed in renegade courts and makeshift churches throughout the country. Quickie divorces have already been performed for several male-male couples, in the ironically named community of Bangor.
Reports from Hollywood say Rosie O' Donnell's partner Kelli Carpenter is livid about the new law. Carpenter, seen shielding her face in the photo at right immediately following her ceremony, was quoted as simply stating, "I will fight this law with my dying breath."
A spokesman for O'Donnell stressed that there was no pre-nuptial agreement between the "star" and Carpenter. "We applaud this decision by the voters. Rosie can't afford to lose half of her assets. That Nickleodeon Kids Choice Awards is all we got. Also, I would like to mention that 'The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas' Special Edition DVD comes out this Tuesday."
The GOP complained that same-sex divorces "violate the sanctity of divorce." Many prominent divorced politicians and high profile conservative adulterers Robert Dole, John McCain, Alfonse D'Amato, Rudolph Guiliani, Dick Armey, Bob Barr and Rush Limbaugh, to name a few, have made it a campaign issue this year. Said Barr, a former Georgia Congressman and three-time loser, "Divorce is clearly a legal action between a man and a woman. It says so in the Bible."
George Will assailed the divorce attempts of same-sex couples, "I can't believe that these people are attempting to bring down the same sacred institution of 'trading up' employed by President Reagan. Have they no shame?" The bow-tied columnist is himself divorced.
In a reaction to the new law, California state Attorney General Bill Lockyear yesterday issued an order to prosecute any television channel showing the movie "The Gay Divorcee", starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The networks TCM and AMC were the first two networks named by Lockyear, but the AMC fingering was retracted by the Attorney General upon learning that they are now "American Movie Channel" and basically just show Burt Reynolds and Meg Ryan movies. Lockyear later scrapped all prosecutions when he was informed that he misread the wording in the proposition.
For the foreseeable future, homosexual couples will be forced to "work things out", unlike their traditional heterosexual counterparts. Former Senator Bob Dole, questioned on the set of a Viagra commercial, observed that, "Divorce is a sacred institution. That's why I went off to war, got my arm blown off, came back, let my wife nurse me back to health, then left her with no forwarding address."
The link you provided goes to a commercial website which may not aware about the 1913 law. Since the law has been there for long but didn't seem to be enforced for long, people may not aware or simply ignore it. The governor is quite smart. He simply refers to the law, which apparently is still in the book.
Ding ding ding-- We have a winner, here!
The Massachusetts SCOTUS is a joke.
Correction: The Massachusetts SC is a joke.
I've lived in Nevada all my life, as has Mr. randog, and thus we were married here.
I assume you're talking about the quicky marriage chapels...?
I swear that is what I meant 100 percent. I was talking ONLY the Britney marriages ONLY. I know that many folks in Nevada have "normal" marriages.
;^)
It does enforce existing law and that's good. But their ruling on gay marriage should have enforced existing law as well. And...this ruling leaves an opening for NY and Rhode Island.
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